Innocent Guilt
by Moonlit Rain
Summary: Takes place during episode 57 [Sakura, Syaoran, and the Elevator]. What could have happened when Sakura and Syaoran were trapped in the elevator. An ET.


Innocent Guilt

A/N: Hey everybody! Back with another one-shot fic, but this one will supposedly be fairly short. It takes place during episode 57 [Sakura, Syaoran, and the Elevator]. Doesn't everyone just [love] that episode or what? ^_~ For people who got stuck with the dubbed version of this episode . . . I just hope you get around to watching the original version! Don't worry, if you're desperate enough, you'll get your hands on it. ^_~ This is an E+T fic, believe it or not. A bit of S+S as well. Hints of shoujo-ai feelings from Tomoyo to Sakura. During the time that Sakura and Syaoran were trapped in the elevator . . . Tomoyo . . . and Eriol . . . were . . . read to find out the rest! And [no], it's [not] a lemon . . . just look at the rating. Actually, I wouldn't be able to write a lemon if my life counted on it. ^^; So, on with the story! Please R+R and, as always, Enjoy!

"..." = Dialogue

'...' = Thoughts

~*~ = Scene/time change

[...] = Italicized words  
  


Eriol smirked internally before he turned to Syaoran. "Li-kun, have you finished your bear yet?" he asked innocently, a sweet-and-innocent-but-mischievous smile implanted on his face. Syaoran nearly spilled his tea as he let out a rather surprised and shocked "Eh?!" Eriol loved doing that. He loved manipulating Syaoran, embarrassing him, teasing him. It wasn't because Eriol was an evil person with cruel intentions. Eriol was just teasing for the jolly good fun of it. Eriol was just being . . . Eriol.

That day was the day of the Teddy Bear Show. Since teddy bears were very much loved by Sakura, she had been bouncing up and down from childlike excitement. Tomoyo and Eriol, both free with no plans in their way of a perfectly wonderful time at the Teddy Bear Show, had agreed to go with Sakura. Syaoran, who just couldn't keep Sakura out of his already aggravated mind, had time to go as well. The day had turned out to be a pretty great one and the group of four were just on the verge of ending their day - with a cup of tea, of course.

"Yes, Li-kun. You [did] buy a bear kit at the craft store, ne?" Tomoyo joined in, a mischievous but still fairly good-natured smile spread on her face. In many ways, she resembled Eriol. She enjoyed manipulating Syaoran just as much as Eriol enjoyed it. She had an external sweet and innocent appearance plastered onto the outside, but she was observant, mischievous, and sometimes went as far as naughty on the inside. But nonetheless, she had a kind soul and hated to see people sad. [Especially] Sakura-chan.

Eriol's task was turning out fine, perfectly in fact. Sakura, Syaoran, Cerberos, and even Yue had never found out his real intention. Although he was focused and aware of all of Sakura's actions, he found himself strangely attracted to Sakura's best friend and number one fan, Daidouji Tomoyo. She was strikingly lovely, that was for sure, and talented in many aspects, but didn't contain any magic within her. Eriol had, and will continue to in the future, used this girl as part of his plans. But every time he did so, he found himself strangely guilty.

That last fragment spoken by Daidouji Tomoyo immediately caused Sakura to shoot up out of her seat and face Li-kun excitedly, her face bright, her eyes sparkling with innocent curiosity. "Did you give it to anyone yet?" Sakura inquired, her voice bursting with life and cheerfulness. Sakura's face just inches away from Syaoran's own was too much to handle. His face burned to an interesting shade of red and he got up out of his seat, suddenly, his back facing Sakura.

He let his head hang down, his bangs covering his eyes, most obviously embarrassed about the whole scenario about his [secret] bear that had kept reminding his heart about a cheerful girl with a happy smile and bright emerald eyes. "I'll be leaving for home now. I want to get back before sunset." he informed them, his voice low and ashamed. He suddenly walked off rapidly without giving the others - Sakura - a chance to catch up to him.

As he walked, he heard a "Li-kun! Chotto matte yo!" behind him. Sakura. Half of Syaoran's mind told him to stop walked and wait for her. The other half commanded him to continue walking ahead. The latter part won. He looked up to discover that he had reached the elevators. He leaned on the wall and produced a heavy sigh, keeping his eyes glued on the floor. "What's wrong with me?" he cursed himself, wanting to kick himself. He had made himself look like an idiot. He never had this problem before. After this had begun . . . he just couldn't help but act different. But people [do] say that people in love do crazy things. Syaoran now had that as a proven fact.

He looked up to see Sakura had caught up to him. "Mou, why did you have to run so fast?" Sakura complained as she advanced towards Syaoran. Both entered the elevator and waited for Tomoyo and Eriol, who had been walking pretty slow. All the while, Eriol couldn't help but be fully aware of the devoted girl next to him. He glanced at her a couple times and found her even more lovely than he had thought last. Eriol glanced away, mentally slapping himself. He couldn't think about that. He had a mission to complete. Things like these would just complicate things even more. Plus, he was [supposedly] had another . . .

He realized that he and Tomoyo were about to round a corner. He could see Sakura from the elevator, waving her hands at the remaining two. "Hayaku, hayaku!" Sakura urged, waving her hands more frantically. Eriol pushed all thoughts of Tomoyo out of his mind and narrowed his eyes, a smirk being born onto his very face. He narrowed his eyes, using magic in the process. Suddenly, the elevator started going insane. Syaoran and Sakura backed up, surprised by the sudden strange actions by the elevator. Suddenly, the elevator door shut.

Tomoyo pushed the button repeatedly, hoping that the next try would work. Eriol walked up to her, trying to stay as calm as possible. "What's wrong?" he asked, looking over her shoulder at the elevator button. From there, he saw that he was much taller than her, seeing that he had no difficulty looking over her shoulder and when she turned to face him, she had to look up. From there, he could see the amethyst eyes more clearly. He nearly had to swallow and look away. They were so beautiful.

"It's not working." she informed him, the worry evident in her voice and eyes as well. "I'll go get help." he told her and rushed off, glad to get away from his . . . weakness, but not very happy to either. This meant he had a weakness. He, [The] Clow Reed. He shook his head furiously. It was just a phase. It would go away as soon as it had came . . . whenever it had came. Right now, he had a task to worry about. 

~*~

Eriol returned to hear someone sobbing softly. Curious about who it could be, Eriol looked around. Then he saw her. [Her]. Daidouji Tomoyo. Sitting on a convenient bench in the building. Crying. The sight was enough to break Eriol's heart into a million pieces. He wanted to comfort her . . . but he couldn't. It would almost be like giving into a weakness. But he couldn't just stand there and watch. It was a battle between his mind and . . . and . . . his heart.

After a few moments of glancing then looking away then starting the pattern all over again, the latter won. He couldn't stand to watch her in pieces. He walked up to her and sat down at the bench. "Is something the matter Daidouji-san?" Eriol asked gently after a few minutes of an almost comfortable silence in between them. Tomoyo stayed silent for a moment then finally opened her mouth to speak. 

"A-After you had went to get help, I-I waited for y-you to see what was wrong with the e-elevator. W-When you didn't come back, I w-went myself to see w-what I can d-do. When I got there and a-asked, they all looked a-at me strangely, reporting that n-nothing was wrong with any of the elevators. I-I was confused and came b-back here to find that you w-were still gone and th-the elevator still b-broken. And now . . . and now Sakura-chan is still s-stuck in there! I-I'm scared Hiiragizawa-kun . . . what if I never s-see Sakura-chan or Li-kun again . . . I'd kill myself if S-Sakura-chan was . . . g-gone . . ." Tomoyo blurted out, stuttering here and there, getting the last word out with much difficulty. Eriol watched on, not knowing what to do.

A fresh set of tears took over and Tomoyo started sobbing even more heavily, making Eriol sad and in pain more than ever. Tomoyo sat there, tears running down her cheeks, her amethyst eyes filled with more sadness than ever. Eriol then decided to help. He knew he was going to regret this later, but he took the crying Tomoyo in his arms, holding her against him, patting her back softly. She seemed to relax a bit under his touch and comfort, her sobbing ceasing a tiny bit.

Tomoyo had her faced burned into Eriol's chest, tears staining his blue jacket. He didn't care. He could feel the soft, pink fabric of her dress under his fingertips and the wisps of her hair trailing on his skin. He liked this feeling, having Tomoyo in his arms. But now was the time to stop Tomoyo's pain and tears. But he didn't want to let go of this embrace, probably the last embrace ever between the two. But Eriol knew all good things had to come to an end one time or another. 

He pushed Tomoyo back and couldn't help resist but tip her chin up so that her sad, amethyst eyes were staring into his blue-grey ones. "I'll be right back. I'm sure Sakura-san and Li-kun will be just fine." he assured Tomoyo gently and warm-heartedly. Probably one of the most warm-hearted things he had ever said in his life. And his voice held genuine sincerity too. Tomoyo wiped a hand over her eye to banish the tears. She smiled one of genuine thanks, happiness returning to her eyes once more. "Thank you." she whispered in a trembling voice. Eriol nodded then walked off, hoping to see that when he returned, a smile would be on her face.

~*~

Tomoyo stood in front of the elevator. She just had a feeling that the elevator was fixed. She didn't know why, but she just had an instinct insider her. She was right. The elevator's lights turned back on and the door opened to reveal that Syaoran had his arms around Sakura. As soon as the door opened, he withdrew his arms from around Sakura and turned away, blushing furiously. Tomoyo didn't bother to tease or giggle at that just now.

"Sakura-chan! Li-kun!" she exclaimed, completely relieved that they were safe, that [Sakura-chan] was safe. She had a strange feeling that Eriol had somehow gotten the elevator to normal. It was a strange sensation, but she just felt it that way. That Eriol had found a way to free Sakura and Syaoran. And Tomoyo thanked Eriol truly for that. She was now happy. Happy to know that Sakura and Syaoran were alive and well. Happy that Eriol had been there for her. Happy that Sakura was happy . . . 

~*~

Eriol slowly brought his staff down, knowing that Sakura and Syaoran would turn up alive and well. He was also hoping, deep inside, that Tomoyo was relieved and happy at the moment. To see her smile was a wonderful thing to see . . . and Eriol had no idea why. Maybe it was because Tomoyo was to kind to be sad. She deserved much better. [Much] better than what he had felt was happiness enough for her . . .

~*~

"Thank you for walking me home." Tomoyo told Eriol as she turned to him. He smiled back, although nervously. "You're welcome. It was the least I could do when you heard that your bodyguards couldn't make it." Eriol spoke as he averted his gaze to the ground. Tomoyo smiled back at him. "Why did you comfort me back there?" she asked Eriol curiously, looking at him. He couldn't help it. He couldn't help it at all. He blushed.

"I don't like seeing people cry." Eriol explained, relieved that he had made such a fast explanation. Tomoyo smiled back at him yet again. "I was scared back there. But you told me not to cry and made me feel better. And-" Tomoyo paused. Telling Eriol that she felt he had brought them back wouldn't be such a good idea. "And . . ." Eriol started, curious. Tomoyo shook her head. "It's nothing." she said quickly, hoping that Eriol wouldn't catch on. But Eriol had. After all, he was one of the world's most powerful wizards. 

"But when I was worried about Sakura-chan, you comforted me and assured me. I can't thank you enough for that. Sakura-chan is very important to me." Eriol noticed the loving look she got when she said that. He listened to her continue on. "And I think that you did a wonderful thing for me. Thank you." Tomoyo thanks him, giving him a bow then walking forward towards him. He didn't know what she was doing but didn't move back. The next move was simply unexpected.

Tomoyo, being a lot shorter than him, stood on tiptoe and pressed her incredibly soft lips against Eriol's cheek. A whole rush of blood reached his cheeks and he froze. He wasn't aware of anything. Just the fact that Tomoyo stood there in front of him, her lips pressed against his cheek in a grateful kiss. Then she stepped back down, a little red as well. She bowed to him again. "Ok then Hiiragizawa-kun. I will see you in school then. Ja ne." she said, waving. Eriol stood there and muttered a small "Ja ne." and a wave.

He was in shock. How could she do this to him? She just made his weakness even bigger. But the feeling of Tomoyo's lips on his cheek felt . . . nice. He wondered how they would feel on his lips . . . Eriol nearly kicked himself. This was not supposed to happen. He realized that he had been standing there for sometime and turned to walk back to his own house.

While he walked, he couldn't help but feel guilty. She had suffered for his scheme and she had suffered by his schemes before. How was he supposed to help Sakura with transforming the cards if he had a weakness. But he had no choice but to make Tomoyo sad, right? So he needn't feel guilty . . . but he was still feeling guilty. It was absolutely necessary . . . why was he? He was practically innocent. But . . . he shook his head. He walked on, his mind focusing on something else. Then it slowly altered to Tomoyo. Eriol sighed heavily. This was serious.

~End of Story  
  


-kun =An honorific ending to usually a boy's name

-chan = An honorific ending to usually a girl's name or a name of a close friend

Ne = Used as a ",right?"

Chotto matte yo = Wait a minute

Mou - Sheesh/geez

Hayaku = Hurry

A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed this! It's fairly short and I hope some of you don't get mad at my changes about the episode. If it's a little bad towards the end, which probably is bad along with the rest of the story, I'm just extremely tired right now. It's 2:40 A.M. people, so give me a break. I hope you enjoyed this fic! 'Til next story! Ja ne!


End file.
